An all-women exhibition in Delhi is showing women in a stronger, larger-than-life image with Draupadi as the role model. The show asks viewers to see her as an individual in a parallel world where she is liberated whilst keeping her original image from the Mahabharata intact.
Sonepat-based World University of Design (WUD) has organised this show, titled Yajnaseni meaning ‘Born Out of Fire’, implying the various hurdles a woman combated in her life’s journey. Curator Akansha Wadhwani, Assistant Professor at WUD, informs the title talks about “the woman that burns in the sacrificial altar and is reborn out of the aches like a phoenix”.
The exhibition features both established and upcoming artists such as Gouri Vemula, Hemavathy Guha, Neerja Chandna Peters, and Stephanie Arpels. Among the younger artists showcasing works are Asma Bi, Aastha Mishra, Avni Bansal, Jyoti Bansal, Samridhi Khandelwal, Shweta Sharma, Sneha Lakhotia, Tanvi Jain and Tisha Mavi. Between them, they have explored themes such as sacrifice, celebration, love and innocence.
Wadhwani gives a lowdown on Delhi-based artists. Gayatri Tandon’s work depicts a flower that can grow in any circumstance, Neerja Chandan Peters showcases the calm in nature and focuses on the inner strength further helps connecting with own conscience and the divine and Tanvi Jain questions the stereotype and the standards of beauty laid down by the society to a woman.”
According to Wadhwani, it’s high time the paradigm needs to shift so equal opportunities are created for women. “On this occasion, I sincerely appreciate all the men who help women come out of their traditional avatars into a more empowered, opinionated and constructive individual, and who can carve out paths to an egalitarian ecosystem.”
ON: March 6 to 12
AT: RKG Art and Culture Center, 7-B, Basement, CV Raman Road, New Friends Colony